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182 attachment to tobacco, in the most offensive form in which it can be exhibited, is, that the smoke of this transatlantic weed preserves them from many disorders to which they are liable from the moisture of the atmosphere of their country, and enables them to bear cold and wet without inconvenience. This notion has perhaps contributed to the use of tobacco in Holland, by furnishing its votaries with something like an apology for their practice; but the majority of smokers doubtless use tobacco for the narcotic, stupifying effects, which its fumes produce. The consumption of tobacco as a masticatory is not near so great in Holland among the boors and sailors, as it is among the common people of England; and snuff, the most elegant and harmless form in which the herb can be used, is not often to be met with among the higher orders of society. In a carriage, or on horseback, a Dutchman smokes his pipe with equal content and satisfaction, and boys of eight or ten years of age, in every other respect to be praised for their diffidence and modesty, are permitted and encouraged to